Garden Chat

Vacation thoughts about seeds

In February, Larry and I got a wild notion to take a two-week trip to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. As we discussed our spring trip, there was one caveat: I needed to be home in time to start my seeds. And with my new greenhouse, that meant I was starting seeds in early March rather than mid-March. We got home Feb. 29. The next day, I was busy in my basement with my new LED grow lights, while my greenhouse warmed to over 75 degrees. That was enough to open one of the automatic vents to keep it from getting too warm. How exciting! Some of the first seeds I planted were yucca seeds gathered from the yard of some snowbird friends. Also, some seeds harvested, maybe illegally, from a desert mule’s ear plant, which will provide beautiful flowers if it survives here. In New Mexico, it’s a perennial, but if it’s an annual here, I’ll just be sure to harvest some seeds again this fall. I also harvested mesquite seed pods just as an

experiment. These are the seeds I am pretty sure will not do well in Minnesota, but it seemed like an idea at the time. Maybe I’ll just get enough wood to smoke a few chicken legs on the grill this summer. Our southwestern trip was a glimpse into summer. Many flowers and some cacti were blooming, and hummingbirds and butterflies were dancing among the flowers. I saw some gardens designated as “Monarch Way Stations” but never saw a monarch butterfly in them. We walked around in shirt sleeves and made use of the sunscreen dispensers we found in some public restrooms. The day we left it was 84 degrees with no humidity. I, however, was ready to leave. The newscasts warned people that rattlesnakes tend to become active about the time the weather approaches that temperature and to take precautions against being a victim of a bite. Not the place for me! I don’t like snakes. That’s not to say I kill them, but then again, Minnesota snakes are not going to kill me, either,

though there are reports of rattlers in southeastern Minnesota. We hope to do some camping there this year, so maybe we’ll have to go in the fall when the weather cools.

nnnn

In gardening, there are so many things to spend money on. I elected not to purchase the shelving that the greenhouse company I bought from makes. Sure, it looked pretty and fit well, but I decided to come up with something less expensive. And I found it. With my old plastic hoop house, I had to weigh it down with cinder blocks to keep it from blowing away in a stiff spring breeze. Those cinder blocks and some two-by-fours are now my economical shelving. And I think it looks just pretty enough. If you are using a small soft-sided hoop house this year, like I used for several decades, let me help you learn from my mistakes. After you get the house anchored (the spikes that come with it won’t do – you need something heavier and stronger), be aware that the sides will move with the wind and will be trying to knock over your shelving and send your seedlings tumbling to the ground. This will make you angry. So don’t try to put your shelves around the outer side of your hoop house. Place them in the center, where the flapping walls will have less contact with your precious seedlings. In really rough weather, some shelving still collapsed, but it’s a lot less likely to happen. After I finally figured this out, I spent a lot less time angry. In April we are so close to getting outside in the sun and in the soil. The humidity and the bugs have not yet hit us, and dreams are in full bloom. Let’s take advantage of it, even as we remember those late-April snowstorms of the past.

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